Parents of hit-run victim, police seek new leads

Delray teen killed on Super Bowl Sunday a year ago

Delray Beach — A year after a hit-and-run driver killed their 15-year-old son, the parents returned Friday to the site where he was struck and pleaded for the public's help.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 4, Austin Miller was skating home from a friend's house about 9:20 p.m. on Barwick Road when he was hit by a pickup truck that slowed down but never stopped, police said.

Police stopped getting tips months ago, despite a reward of up to $20,000. A crucifix crossed with a surfboard stands near the spot where he was hit and killed. His family wants an answer to their question: Who?

"I'd like to see the guy caught. It's been a year," Miller's father, Harold Miller, said.

"As far as resolving the loss, that doesn't make that much difference. I'd like to see the guy brought to justice and whatever the sentence is I'd be happy with that."

Miller said he remembers hearing his son at night strumming Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water. Austin Miller's mother, Karen Miller, said she keeps waiting for him to come home and ask, 'What's for dinner?' Then she remembers it will never occur.

"He had a big heart and he was a really great and smart boy," she said. "I keep going back to the person that did this. There's no way somebody did this and they didn't know that they did it."

The 6-foot teenager was finally becoming a man and was full of life, engaging in pastimes like skiing, surfing and skateboarding, his parents said.

"It was a joy to be his father," Harold Miller said. "It's been a hard year adjusting to not having him around."

Traffic Homicide Investigator Tammy Turberville said she would like tips to revive the case. She said the killer's out there and the guilt is probably gnawing at his or her conscience.

"It's time for closure," Turberville said.

"Not only for the Miller family but for the driver. No matter how hard they try to suppress it, it's always there. It was an accident, and somebody lost their life."